Welcome To The New Age
by SilverHeart09
Summary: The Avengers have been infiltrated and a war is coming, who can you trust if you're no longer sure that the one's closest to you are who they say they are? Or maybe that's by design? Where Thanos is concerned, nothing should be left to chance, but sometimes help can be found from the most unexpected of sources. Whole team whump, follows Dream Quarantine.
1. Chapter 1

_TA-DA! Presenting, the sequel to Dream Quarantine (although reading that first isn't really required) and my latest brain-child and product of procrastination. All sorts of crazy stuff will be going down in this so I hope you enjoy :)_

_Review and I will love you forever._

* * *

In the dark recesses of space, Thanos was preparing his army.

Not just Chitauri this time, he'd learnt his lesson. That ridiculous race of monsters had been easily defeated by _humans. _Of all the species in the nine realms, it had to be the mortals that thwarted his plans.

Thanos glowered from his throne and watched the proceedings as they went on around him. Not just Chitauri, but Skrull as well, another race with the unique ability to shape-shift, taking the appearance of whoever (or, in some cases, _what_ever) they chose. That would surely come in useful.

Thanos' mind turned to Loki, the God of Mischief trapped in his cell in Asgard. If he recalled correctly, he had promised a rather… imaginative end for that particular worthless individual. All he had to do was keep his big brother away long enough for him to be extracted from the cell, then the _real _fun would begin.

Thanos smiled. Torture always cheered him up.

Below him, weapons were made and plans were formed. The Midgardians would not stand a chance this time.

_There won't be a next time, _Thanos thought to himself. _In a few weeks, the human race will be extinct and the universe will be mine._

He smiled again.

Not long now.

**XxXxXxX**

'It won't be long now,' Hela told her father. 'I sent Panic on a scouting mission a few days ago, he reports that Thanos readies his armies, it won't be long before he seeks to claim the Earth for himself.'

'With the full might of Thanos, the Earth will perish,' Loki said. 'Not even the Avengers could save the planet.'

Hela cocked her head to one side and gave her father a look. 'You sound… not sorry or remorseful… but… regretful?'

'I have had many an interesting talk with Thor,' Loki replied. 'While I hate the Avengers with every inch of my soul; there are innocents on the Earth that will meet their fate when Thanos attacks.'

'Perhaps, perhaps not,' Hela replied.

'What do you mean?'

'I am considering readying my army, assisting Midgard in the fight for their planet,' Hela replied.

Loki's eyebrows shot up. 'Are you sure that's wise?' he asked. 'It is not safe.'

Hela glared at him. 'It's a war, father, it's not _supposed _to be safe,' she said. 'But I have been to Midgard a few times and I find it to be a rather pleasant place. Thanos would take it and turn it into a mine, a forge for his army, the humans deserve better.'

Loki scoffed affectionately at his daughter. 'You've gone soft,' he remarked.

Hela smiled sweetly. 'It is only a thought,' she said. 'But there is nothing to stop Thanos from coming after Helheim if he succeeds in capturing Midgard. It is unlikely, but not impossible that he could claim all of the nine realms for himself. If he can be stopped at Midgard, then maybe we stand a chance.'

A noise behind them disturbed their conversation and Hela turned her head to see her grandmother stood there, watching the pair.

'Time to leave, Hela,' Frigga told her, not unkindly.

'Give my best to Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton,' Loki said, smirking. 'And throw Tony Stark out a window for me.'

Hela smiled and kissed her father on his cheek. 'See you soon,' she said softly. 'I will keep you updated.'

Loki clutched her hand tightly. 'Don't go to war, Hela,' he warned her. 'Not unless you absolutely have to, I do not want you risking your life fighting for the mortals.'

Hela inclined her head in acknowledgement and turned to follow the Queen of Asgard out of the cell.

'What were you talking about?' Frigga asked, taking her granddaughter's arm as they stepped out into the twilight.

'Nothing terrifically exciting,' Hela replied as they strode along the Rainbow Bridge towards the Bifrost. 'Only the possibility of war.'

'With Thanos?' Frigga asked, sounding unsure.

'Yes, you do not think he will attack?'

'I am not sure,' she replied. 'Honestly, I think he might. But I agree with Loki, I do not want you caught up in it.'

'I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself,' the Goddess of Death responded indignantly. 'I have my own army; I will defend my realm and the souls that rest there, no matter what the cost.'

'And the humans? Will you assist them?'

'If I have to, will Odin assist the humans?'

Frigga frowned and Hela smirked. 'No, of course he won't. The meagre might of Earth is too far below the mighty Odin, there is no point even _considering _helping them.'

'We don't know yet,' Frigga said quietly. 'This war may not even happen.'

'It will,' Hela said defiantly. 'I'm certain of it. I can feel it in the air; the realms are bristling with anticipation.'

They'd reached the Bifrost and Hela nodded a hello to Heimdal, who obligingly opened the gateway for her. Frigga swept Hela's hair off the dead side of her face and kissed her cheek gently.

'Let me deal with Odin,' she said. 'You concentrate on ensuring that, should it come to it, your realm is guarded and the souls you protect are safe. I promise you this though, Hela. If you require assistance, you shall have it, regardless of what Odin thinks.'

Hela smiled and kissed the Queen's cheek. 'Thank you, my lady,' she said. 'I will keep you informed.'

Then she was sucked back into her realm and was gone, leaving Frigga and Heimdal alone.

'Keep an eye on her,' Frigga told the gatekeeper. 'I worry about her down there all alone with only the dead for company.'

'Yes, my queen,' Heimdal responded, bowing his head.

'And if they request it, allow Loki's sons Narve and Vali to visit her,' Frigga said. 'They should be allowed to see their sister.'

Heimdal bowed his head again and Frigga left, striding back across the bridge in the quiet night air of the Realm Internal, engrossed in her own thoughts.

**XxXxXxX**

Tony Stark, or Shellhead as he was also (affectionately?) known, was at the moment unaware of the possibility of being defenestrated _again _and was lounging on the sofa with Clint, watching _Whose Line is it Anyway?_ and laughing their respective heads off. Outside, the sky was black and rain lashed against the windows, the wind howling and the water in the bay churning and smashing forcefully against the side of Liberty Island.

Thor had been stood silently by the window for the past twenty minutes, looking out across the New York skyline, brow furrowed.

'What's the matter?' Tony called to his silent teammate. 'You've got a face on you like a smacked arse!'

Thor frowned. 'A smacked arse?' the God of Thunder said. 'I do not understand.'

'He means you look depressed about something,' Clint said, before Tony could go into detail.

'It's true there is something on my mind,' Thor acknowledged.

Tony put the TV on mute and leant over the back of the sofa to watch Thor carefully. 'Share with the group,' he said.

'There is a rumour among the nine realms that Thanos means to attack Midgard,' Thor said.

'Sucks to be them!' Clint scoffed. 'Wait… that's us!'

'Be kind, rewind,' Tony said, ignoring Thor's confused look as yet another classic reference went sailing straight over his large blond head. 'Who's Thanos?'

'The leader of the Chitauri,' Thor said. 'He threatened Loki with unimaginable pain if he did not claim the Earth as his own.'

'And now he wants to have a go himself?' Clint asked. 'Why?'

'I am unsure,' Thor said. 'But Loki believes he wishes to take control of the whole Universe, which will include the nine realms.'

'Cause he's a reliable source to get information from,' Clint muttered.

He was ignored.

'Any idea when he plans to attack? Do we need to warn SHIELD and the National Guard and every 3 letter organisation in the phone book?' Tony asked.

'I must return to Asgard,' Thor announced after a moment's contemplation. 'I must speak with Loki and my father; perhaps we can bring some light on this situation.'

'_Shed _some light, buddy,' Tony said. 'But close enough.'

Once Thor had gone (Tony had told him to stop opening the Bifrost inside his tower because it was doing strange things to its structural integrity), the two superheroes unmuted the TV and continued to watch as the weather outside picked up and the wind whistled and the rain lashed against the window.

'Should we be bothered about Thanos?' Clint asked after a pause. 'I've never heard of him.'

'Neither have I,' Tony said, drumming his fingers against the side of the sofa, a sign all the Avengers had learnt to recognise as boredom or agitation, Clint suspected it was the latter in this instance. Tony didn't like not knowing things.

'I'm going to call it in,' Clint said, plucking his earpiece from the pocket of his jeans. 'We can't rely on Thor; he doesn't exactly have a great sense of timing.'

'True that,' Tony agreed, not taking his eyes off the TV but continuing to drum his fingers in that absentminded fashion against the sofa.

'When's Pepper back?' Clint asked, as he waited to be connected to Director Fury.

'Ummm… Thursday, what day is it today?' Tony asked, still sounding distracted.

'It's Tuesday,' Clint informed him. 'You been pulling all-nighters in the lab again?'

'Mmm-hmm,' Tony said, not really looking at anything but staring at a spot on the wall opposite him.

'I wondered where the smell was coming from.'

Tony turned his head and stopped tapping in order to glare at him. Clint shrugged nonchalantly.

'Go take a shower and a nap,' he told his teammate firmly. 'I'll get Natasha to pick up pizza on the way back from the helicarrier; we haven't tried to park the Quinjet in a car park recently, that's always good for a laugh, right?'

Tony didn't say anything, and when Clint pocked him with a finger he jumped sky high.

'Um… right, shower, nap, pizza, sounds good,' he said, springing up from his seat and nearly sprinting to his bedroom, leaving Clint sat on the sofa with a puzzled look on his face.

'_You wanted to speak to me, Agent?' _Fury's voice sounded in his ear.

'Um, yeah, Stark's lost it,' Clint said, still staring after Tony.

'_Tell me something I don't know.'_

'Some dude called Thanos is going to attack Earth.'

'_That is something I don't know, tell me more.'_

**XxXxXxX**

Tony had a shower but he didn't sleep, he sat on his bed instead wrapped in a towel staring into space, in his mind anyway.

Since that little missile-incident with the Chitauri a few months ago, he hadn't been sleeping. Every time he closed his eyes he was back there, in the blackness of space staring at the Chitauri mothership about to get nuked, his chest burning, his head aching, his lungs calling out for air, Pepper's face still there in his mind.

_I never told her, I never told her how much she means to me._

Full of regret, faced with his mortality, and then he was falling down, down…

Down…

Down…

Down…

Tony jerked awake with a shout on the floor where'd he landed after drifting off. For a minute or so, he lay there, clutching the fabric of his towel, shaking and clutching his eyes tightly shut.

'_Sir?' _

JARVIS' robotic voice made him start, but it also worked to ground him, to bring him back to the present. He was at home, he was safe, he was… he was…

He was terrified.

'_Sir, Ms Potts is on the line, shall I ask her to call you later?'_

'No!' Tony yelped, picking himself off the floor and climbing naked into bed, leaving his towel on the carpet and burrowing under the blanket, suddenly desperate for warmth, his body still shaking from the aftermath of his nightmare. 'Put Pepper on.'

'_As you wish.'_

There was a click as the call was transferred, and then: _'Hey, honey.'_

And suddenly, everything was okay. Tony closed his eyes, that way he could pretend that Pepper was there next to him, talking to him, keeping him safe. She was his anchor, in so many ways.

'Hey, Pep,' Tony said, smiling in spite of himself.

'_So, what's the damage?'_

Tony frowned. She didn't know, did she? JARVIS hadn't said anything?

'What do you mean?' he asked, a feeling of dread creeping into his gut.

'_Toasters. How many have we lost?'_

'No toasters, a couple of microwaves though.'

He heard Pepper chuckle and it warmed his heart. _'Thor still putting the boxes of Pop Tarts in there?'_

'Yep, he hasn't worked out that a) they're meant to go in the toaster, packaging not included and b) cardboard is highly flammable.'

'_Is everything okay?' _Pepper asked after a moment's pause. _'You sound… off.'_

'Charming,' Tony scoffed.

'_I mean it,' _Pepper said. _'What's happened?'_

'Nothing,' Tony lied, running the material of the comforter through his fingers.

'_Tony…' _Pepper said in her "This-CEO-Don't-Take-No-Crap" voice she reserved for board meetings and occasionally the press.

Tony sighed. 'It's just something Thor said, anything possible alien invasion.'

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, then a click as the line changed to a video call and Tony was able to see Pepper on the window screen sat in her hotel room, strawberry blond hair loose around her face wearing a vest top and no make-up, looking stunningly beautiful and scrutinising her boyfriend buried under the blanket with his wet hair sticking up on end, black rings around his eyes and paler than usual.

'_Tony,' _she said softly. _'When is the last time you slept?'_

'About five minutes ago,' Tony said, voice muffled by the pillow he'd buried half of his face into.

He was also on her side of the bed, Pepper noticed.

'_For how long?'_

'About five minutes.'

Pepper smiled sympathetically at him. _'I'll be home soon,' _she said. _'Try and get some sleep.'_

'I'll be counting the seconds,' Tony informed her, gazing longingly at her. 'Could you… stay? On the line I mean, until I fall asleep.'

'_Of course I will,' _Pepper said. _'What shall we talk about?'_

'Tell me about your day, how's Tokyo?'

'_Tokyo is okay; these businessmen are stuffy and dull though. And I swear if I have to eat sushi one more time I'm going to go spare. I've never been a massive fan of the stuff and now it's being forced down my throat! And every time I walk into a room it's like "oh wow there's a woman in here" and I get stared at for the duration of the meeting. Oh, and I met a little girl yesterday who asked me if I was Iron Man's girlfriend and when I told her yes she was literally so excited she was jumping up down and asked for a picture. I hear the weather is really bad over there at the moment, is Thor annoyed about something? Tony?'_

Soft snores indicated that, at some point during her rant, Tony had fallen asleep and was now curled in a ball in their bed, eyes closed, drooling onto her pillow.

'_Oyasumi, Tony.'_ Pepper said softy. _'Aishiteru.'_

The screen went dark, but Tony didn't notice and carried on snoring.

**XxXxXxX**

SHIELD Agent Natasha Romanoff was parking the Quinjet in the car park of the nearest pizza joint because she could, that was the only reason.

That and seeing the wonder on the little kid's faces gave her a bit of a kick. And her partner had dared her to.

'_Nice one,' _Clint's voice said into her ear via the earpiece where he'd been monitoring her superb bit of parallel parking using the camera attached to the outside of the jet. _'You didn't even knock any wing mirrors off this time.'_

'Can it,' Natasha retorted, unclipping her safety harness and ensuring that the jet was 'locked', so to speak. 'What is with this weather?' she asked as she stepped off the jet and hit the remote release so the cargo doors slammed shut behind her as she strode, nonplussed and with a gun strapped to her leg, in through the doors of the shop.

'_Dunno, it's not Thor though, he's off planet at the moment.'_

'Damn it, blaming Thor for weather is so much fun,' Natasha said as she joined the queue. 'Remember when we tried to blame him when it snowed? He was so confused.'

'_I think we actually had him convinced it was his fault,' _Clint said chuckling. _'He looked so apologetic.'_

'Good god we're turning into Tony,' Natasha said shivering.

Clint laughed.

It wasn't until Natasha was strapped into the Quinjet again with the pizza boxes stacked next to her and was bringing the jet up into the air that she noticed the figure stood in the corner of the car park. She blinked once, and it was gone.

Natasha Romanoff was the best at what she did for a reason and if there was one thing she was certain of it was this:

Trust your instincts.

There _had _been someone there, she was positive, and the thought of being watched sent shivers running down her spine that had nothing to do with the sharp turn she had to execute in order to avoid sending a tree crashing down onto a car.

Something was coming, she could feel it.

Something big.

**XxXxXxX**

Thanos was waiting, seated on his throne, when the Skrull returned from Midgard.

'Well?' he said impatiently, he didn't like to be kept waiting.

A few seconds passed and suddenly instead of the ugly creature in front of him, he was staring at the beautiful face of Natasha Romanoff, who bowed, red hair swinging across her face.

'I am yours to serve, my Lord,' it said in Natasha's voice.

Thanos smirked. Now the fun would really begin.

* * *

_Oyasumi- __Good night._

_Aishiteru- I love you._

_Please review! :D This story is gonna get awesome, pinky swear :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Look guys! Another chapter! (Yay!)_

_Also, I just got back from seeing Rocky Horror and it was AMAZING. Seriously, I mean, wow._

_The guy playing Frankenfurter had a-m-a-zing legs and a fantastic ass. _

_Moving on, here is chapter 2, please review, I love you all :) All mistakes are mine, all mine, and no, you can't have any._

* * *

The Goddess of Death and ruler of the Underworld was ill at ease.

Truthfully, she hadn't really felt _good _in a long time, maybe when she still had a family before they were ripped from her side as she was banished to the cold recesses of Helheim she'd been content, but now her soul was empty and her life was dark and miserable.

She'd tried though, she'd done her utmost to turn the Underworld into a peaceful resting place for the souls that lived there and she was certain she'd achieved that goal. While there was always room for improvement, Helheim had become a safe Haven for the dead, where they could rest in peace after their weary long lives and be reunited with loved ones, friends, family members…

Lovers.

Hela shifted in her seat. She'd never had time for a lover, or whatever they were called nowadays. Plus in the Underworld, the choice was limited to the dead… dead… and oh yes, the dead. She wasn't particularly lonely, the dead were kind companions to her and the Hellhounds that roamed her lands respected and adored her.

As if reading his mistress' thoughts, Panic raised his head from its place on her lap and looked up at her with bright red eyes. Hela patted his head reassuringly and he laid his head back down again. Pan had been a baby abandoned by its mother when she'd found it while riding one day, the tiny scrap of life curled by a tree, dark black fur stained with mud and frost from the cold. And now he was the biggest Hellhound that Hela had ever met and 100% faithful to her. Her father had remarked once that people were fickle and untrustworthy and would sooner stab you in the back than look at you, animals on the other hand either hated, or adored you, there was no in-between.

Hela stood up suddenly, catching Panic to jump up and observe her quizzically as she consulted the maps on the table in front of her, even though she'd had them committed to memory and could draw it with her eyes closed.

From a strategic point, Helheim was slap bang underneath Yggdrasil; her realm was one of the worlds under the World Tree's roots and thus was, essentially, trapped by the tree itself and the two realms either side.

If Thanos attacked, defending her realm would be virtually impossible, especially if the rest of the nine realms had already been taken.

'Gudrod,' Hela called into the empty air. A few seconds later, her lieutenant appeared, a Viking warrior who had sworn his allegiance to her in return for being allowed to continue serving as part of an army. There was no-one in the cosmos that Hela trusted more.

'My lady,' the ghostly form of her right-hand man said, bowing low. 'You summoned me?'

'Thanos means to attack Midgard,' Hela explained. 'If he does our realm will be caught in the balance, ensure that the army is ready and our borders are protected. No-one gets in or out without my permission.'

'Yes, my lady,' Gudrod said, bowing again and disappearing into the air.

Hela sat down heavily in her chair, the left side of her body sore and crying out for rest, just as it always did. Travelling via the Bifrost took a lot out of her. Panic curled up at her side again and Hela closed her eyes, leaning her head back against her throne. Sensing her distress, Panic whined and Hela stroked his fur gently.

'Don't worry, Pan,' she reassured him. 'We've got this.'

Panic growled in agreement.

**XxXxXxX**

'If Midgard is threatened then I want our army defending it,' Thor stormed at his father.

'These "Avengers" held it before, they can do so again,' Odin countered.

'That was against the Chitauri and it nearly cost one of them their life,' Thor said. 'This is Thanos, he is more dangerous and the city is not yet recovered from Loki.'

'If you are so certain Thanos will take the Earth then my answer is final,' his father said. 'I will not risk the people of this realm in this fruitless battle.'

'There is nothing to stop Thanos from turning his eye on Asgard next,' Frigga said gently. 'Hela has expressed concerns that he will attempt an attack on Helheim.'

'Hela?' Odin snapped, glaring at his wife. 'When did you speak to her?'

'That is not important,' Frigga shot back at him. 'But she is right. If Thanos can be stopped from taking the Earth then we stand a chance of containing this before he turns his eye to the rest of the cosmos.'

Odin glared at his wife and son and sat down heavily on his throne, tapping his fingers against the side as he thought.

Thor was a mighty warrior, he knew that, but his judgement may be being clouded by that mortal… what's her name? Oh yes, Jane. That and his new found obsession with this 'team' of his called the Avengers, it spelled trouble. Yes, Odin was grateful for them for being able to stop Loki's plans, but the last thing he needed was mortals interfering in the affairs of Gods.

He sighed heavily and looked at his son with weary eyes.

'No, Thor,' he said, in a tone of voice that broached no argument. 'I will not risk the lives of my people against the might of Thanos. This is the Midgardians' battle, not ours.'

Thor turned to his mother who gave him a look. She knew better then to argue when her husband had made his mind up about something. Plus, unbeknownst to both her son and husband, she'd already promised Hela assistance if needed.

Thor glared angrily at his father and stormed away.

**XxXxXxX**

Tony was found that evening underneath one of his cars, wrench in his hand, drooling onto the cleaning rag he was using as a pillow.

Strictly speaking it wasn't actually his car; it was one of the SHIELD jeeps that had taken a bit of a beating earlier in the week. Even Fury knew that Tony Stark was the mechanic to go to if you wanted the job done properly. He charged a fortune of course, but that was only because he disliked Fury so much. Steve got his bike serviced for free and he had an arrangement with Clint and Natasha. If he repaired their respective cars and gadgets for free, they'd help him prank Fury. Like the time they'd put Nair in his shaving foam.

Ah memories.

'Hey buddy, wakey wakey,' Clint said, kicking Tony's foot. 'Natasha's back with pizza.'

'Hmmm,' Tony mumbled. 'Five more minutes, Pepper.'

Clint sighed and, bending over, yanked his teammate up under the armpits and pulled him onto his feet before he even knew what was happening.

'Huh? Wassat?' Tony said blinking at him confused.

'Natasha. Pizza. Upstairs. Now,' Clint clarified, knowing better than to use long words when Tony was sleep deprived, he didn't listen to what he said normally, but 'pizza' was a word that all of them recognised.

Now that Tony was stood up and blinking tiredly at him Clint had a chance to really _look _at him. Shellhead was the kind of person who wouldn't go to a doctor unless he was dragged there and it was usually up to Pepper to keep an eye on him when he was sick.

He didn't _look _sick. He just looked… off.

'You okay?' Clint said, giving him a funny look as he staggered towards the stairs.

'What? Yeah I'm fine,' Tony replied offhandedly.

'You look like you're about to collapse,' Clint observed, as he veered to the left and nearly crashed into the side of a table that would have left a nasty bruise on his leg. Instead of crashing into it however, Clint grabbed his arm and sat him down on the sofa.

'Talk to me,' he said. 'There is obviously something wrong and you need to let me in, what's going on?'

'I don't _need _to tell you anything,' Tony said glaring at him. 'You're just being nosey.'

'You're my teammate, Tony,' Clint said. 'If something affects you then something affects all of us.'

'For crying out loud now you sound like Cap,' Tony shot at him.

'He has a point,' Clint said slowly.

'As I recall we all still basically hated each other during the whole Loki/Chitauri thing and that didn't affect our performance.'

Clint gave Tony a sad look that didn't go un-noticed and Tony glared at him again.

'That's what this is about,' Clint said quietly. 'Something happened when you were up there, in space, with no air, watching the cosmos getting nuked. Something happened that scared you.'

Tony said nothing and for a moment or two Clint wondered if he'd gone too far by bringing that up. God knows they were all grateful that he did it, but they also all felt a stab of guilt that there was nothing they could do to _prevent _him from having to do it, for finding another way.

'It's big,' Tony said after a while. 'Space, I mean. It's big. Really big. It just goes on and on. If you could fit the whole of space on… say, a poster or something, then I, the Earth, this galaxy, wouldn't even be a blip, it would be invisible because space is so damn _big. _Plus you wouldn't be able to 'cause it would just keep getting bigger and bigger and it's going to keep expanding and getting bigger until it starts going the other way and in about 5 billion years there won't even be an Earth anymore cause the sun will cook it but we won't be around when that happens and I was trying to think if I'd prefer to be drowned or suffocated in space and honestly neither is particularly appealing and seeing that mother ship was the scariest thing and…'

Tony carried on rambling like this for a few more seconds and Clint finally realises that he is, in fact, having a panic attack and is about to pass out from lack of air if he doesn't stop talking _right this fucking second. _

'Tony!' Clint said, grabbing his friend's shoulders and shaking him. 'Stop! You're not in space, you're in Stark Tower, I'm Clint Barton, you're safe, Pepper is coming home soon, Natasha has pizza, life is good.'

'Pep… pizza?' Tony said once he'd managed to start breathing again and was blinking confused eyes at Clint.

'Both of those,' Hawkeye told him, then frowned at the glaze that had settled over the billionaire's eyes.

'I think you need some more sleep,' Clint said.

'No no no no!' Tony yelped, jumping up from the sofa and striding purposefully towards the stairs. 'I'm fine; really, everything's good, I'm okay it's all great.'

'You're fooling no-one,' Clint muttered as he followed him upstairs.

If Tony heard him he didn't say anything.

**XxXxXxX**

Loki was _not _impressed to see his big brother when he appeared in his cell later that day. All Thor had done since he'd been brought to Asgard was confirmed what he always knew to be true. That he was a stolen relic locked away until someone had use of him.

'Evening,' Loki scowled at him.

'I need to know what Hela said to you,' Thor demanded, no time for pleasantries when there was a war looming.

'You know full well that I haven't seen my daughter for a long while,' Loki spat at him, glaring.

'I know that mother has been helping her see you,' Thor said. 'I also know that Hela regularly uses the Hellhounds as spies. If she has heard or seen anything, I need to know what it is.'

'Hela's behaviour is no concern of yours,' Loki said. 'She can take care of herself.'

'Yet you still worry about her.'

'She is my daughter!' Loki yelled at him suddenly. 'She has done nothing wrong, she is trapped down there in the dark and the cold with only the dead to comfort her and keep her company and she has that curse looming over her like a black cloud, destroying her self-confidence and sense of worth. Hela is a beautiful wonderful girl and I love her more dearly than anything else in the world, but now she sees the cosmos in darkness and despair. I feel her pain and it _burns _me knowing that there is nothing I can do to comfort her, knowing that I am stranded here in this cell while she worries about war. Even by Asgardian standards she is too young to worry about protecting others.'

'If there is a war then I doubt Thanos will turn his attention towards Helheim,' Thor said, half trying to comfort his brother and half trying to reassure himself. 'That's not the important question right now though.'

'Hela knows nothing,' Loki said. 'Don't get her involved in this.'

'Actually I was going to ask where you stand,' Thor said quietly. 'Would you turn to Thanos or would you fight with us?'

'I would fight with my daughter,' Loki shot back almost immediately. 'That is if Odin trusted me enough to let me out of this stinking cell, which I doubt somehow.'

'If Hela can get in then I'm sure you can find a way to get out,' Thor replied. 'Honestly, I'm surprised she hasn't broken you out already.'

Loki smiled but said nothing and it sent an uneasy feeling down Thor's spine.

'I must return to Midgard and warn the others,' he said. 'I will see you soon, I expect.'

'Whatever,' Loki replied, waving his hand at him.

**XxXxXxX**

Tony and Clint had had far too much to drink and were stood on the table singing 'All These Things That I've Done' when Steve came back from his run that evening.

In fairness to Shellhead and Legolas, they hadn't known that they were drinking far more than their recommended daily intake because Darcy Lewis hadn't mentioned that she'd tipped out the beer from the bottles that they were drinking from and had replaced it with Asgardian mead Thor had brought back from Asgard, guaranteed to get you from sober to passed out on the floor in under ten minutes.

Steve and Natasha were stood in the doorway watching them with a confused look on their faces. Natasha had the empty beer bottle in her hand and kept staring at the sticky label where it said, clear as day, 4.5% alcohol.

She turned her gaze back to her two drunk teammates and back to the bottle, then at Steve, then at Tony and Clint again, and eventually threw up her hands, announced she was '235% done' and kicked back on the sofa, turning the TV on and beginning to channel surf.

Steve had no idea why she was measuring her emotions in percentages and instead decided to shower and change. When he got back, Clint and Tony had reached the 'passed out on the floor' stage of Asgardian mead and were lying on the carpet. In fairness to Natasha, she had put two cushions under their respective heads and covered them with a blanket, after taking a picture and uploading it to Twitter of course.

Thor was stood next to them sniffing the bottle they'd been drinking from. 'Tis Asgardian mead!' he announced.

'No wonder they were plastered,' Natasha said, not looking up from where she was watching _Elementary _on TV. It was their new favourite program, after _Big Bang Theory _of course. Pepper found it frustrating and had announced that when she'd gone to London on SI business she hadn't encountered anyone with the hot British accent that Johnny Lee Miller had. Tony had taken this as a challenge and had said 'elementary, my dear Pepper' in such an _amazing _British accent that Pepper had dragged him off to their bedroom almost immediately.

Sadly, the Avengers were all used to this by now and they'd stopped being bothered by it.

'Hi Thor,' Steve said, stretching out on the sofa by Natasha with the box of leftover pizza on his lap.

'A good evening to you, friend Steve,' Thor said, bowing his head to him. 'I'm afraid I bring bad tidings from Asgard.'

'What's happened?' Natasha asked, frowning.

'I was talking to Tony and Clint this morning about the possibility of an attack by a being known as Thanos,' Thor explained.

At the sound of their names, Clint brushed an invisible thing off his nose and Tony mumbled something that sounded like 'that crocodile is wearing a hat, that doesn't sound right.'

'Who's Thanos?' Steve asked.

'A Titan,' Thor explained. 'At least that's what Loki tells me. He is also known as the Avatar of Death which explains why Hela is so afraid.'

'Who's Hela?' Steve asked.

'Loki's daughter,' Tony mumbled into the cushion. 'Goddess of Death, Jesus what the hell went into that stuff?'

'Asgardian mead,' Natasha told him. 'We think it was Darcy.'

'Remind me to kill her,' Clint told her.

'Loki has a child?' Steve asked, looking shocked.

'Loki has many children,' Thor said as Tony and Clint tried, and mostly failed, to pull themselves up into a sitting position. 'Hela rules Helheim, the Underworld. If Thanos plans to attack then he will be powerful enough to breach her defences and claim it for himself.'

'Does Hela have emotional trauma issues too?' Tony asked, blinking blearily at what he _thought _was Thor, but was actually Steve.

'I do not understand,' Thor said.

'Emotional trauma, childhood issues, some great tragedy that has befallen her, abandonment stuff, all that,' Tony said waving his hand randomly in the air.

'Hela's story is not a happy one,' Thor told them regretfully. 'And I am sad to say that I play a large part in that. But her concerns are very real. If Thanos controls the underworld he can control the spirits that live there and turn the realm into a forge for his army, using the dead as his slaves. Hela would rather die than allow that to happen.'

'Is he planning on attacking by himself?' Steve asked, frowning.

'Rumour has it that he is rallying an army,' Thor explained. 'Whether they will just be made up of Chitauri is unknown, I expect he will find another ally.'

'And Loki?' Clint asked, sounding rough.

'Loki will ally with Hela,' Thor told him. 'Since Hela would fight against Thanos we need not worry about him yet. Plus, Loki is still in his cell on Asgard under heavy guard.'

'Should we warn SHIELD?' Natasha asked one hand already on the comm-piece hidden in her ear.

Thor nodded. 'Thanos is powerful,' he said. 'If we can get a head start on him, get the Earth ready for war, we stand a chance of defeating him.'

'Do_ you _think we can stop him?' Steve asked.

Thor said nothing, his silence was enough.

Tony (somehow) managed to pull himself to his feet and headed off to the kitchen. 'I'm going to call Bruce,' he yelled over his shoulder. 'It's been too long.'

**XxXxXxX**

_We are coming for you, Asgardian. You think you are safe in that cell? You are never safe. There is nowhere you can run from us, nowhere you can hide. We will hunt you down and rip the skin off your bones. This is your price for failing us you worthless piece of Frost Giant scum._

Loki jolted awake with a strangled cry, one hand flying to his head as the voice from his dream faded away, leaving him shaking and with a chill that shook him to his very core.

He pulled himself to his feet and summoned the amulet Hela had given him with a wave of his hands. It was time to get out of here.

* * *

_Oooh a mysterious amulet, the plot thickens :) Please review my lovelies!_


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